Russell Bobbitt Tops Ohio National Enduro

Shan Moore | August 3, 2008

A couple of new faces, along with a more familiar one, filled the podium at the Moonshine National Enduro, round seven of the AMA/FMF Racing National Enduro Series, held today in New Straitsville, Ohio.

Defending OMA Champion Jimmy Jarrett, as well as multi-time GNCC Champ Barry Hawk Jr. finished second and third, respectively, behind 2006 series champion Russell Bobbitt, in a race that saw Jarrett leading after the first few checks.

Bobbitt (pictured) struggled during the early going; as did teammate and eight-time series champ Michael Lafferty. However, Bobbitt was able to get on track in the third and fourth tests, going from one point down from Jarrett to one point ahead in those two sections.

In the end, Bobbitt took the win, his second of the year, by a single point, with Jarrett, Hawk and Lafferty all tied for second with 16 points. Jarrett had the edge over Hawk by 15 seconds, with Lafferty finishing fourth, another 41 seconds back.

After coming into the event with a slim, one point advantage in the series standings, the win gives Bobbitt a bit of breathing room over Lafferty, especially since Jarrett and Hawk, who are not regulars on the tour, served as spoilers for Bobbitt’s cause.

“Today didn’t go smoothly at all for me,” said Bobbitt. “The second section was a really short one and I crashed twice and kind of got turned around in there. So I felt pretty terrible after that and I knew I had to make it up.

“I was down a good bit of ground to Jimmy at the halfway point and I knew I just had to ride consistent and luckily I rode well the rest of the day and I had the speed to get it done.

“No lead is safe in this series, because anyone can come in, like they did today, and anyone can have a bad day. I had a horrible finish in Pennsylvania, so I need to just keep working and take care of business.

Fifth place went to Ohio KTM rider Cory Buttrick with 19 points, while Cole Kirkpatrick, winner of the Texas round, also finished with 19 points on his KTM, but was 24 points arrears.

The tiny town of New Straitsville, opened its doors whole-heartedly to the National Enduro Promoter’s Group and the enduro regulars, hosting the signup at the local fire department, and allowing the riders free reign of its streets. The New Straitsville Enduro riders also did a magnificent job of organizing the event and working with local land owners. The event was held on seven different private properties and connected by local and county roads.